Framers
by Eternal Ending
Summary: -They were pure myth, right?- Aya goes on a mission when late one night someone tries to kill her. This rapidly changes when she stumbles upon a secret older than her whole society. One that engulfs her life and may just change her world...forever R
1. Glitter

**So I first started writing this some time ago. I wrote for fanlib, which actually went under a while back. Unfortunately I lost my first excellent chapter, so I was forced to rewrite. But I'd be glad to write this out if you guys like it. **

**My inspiration for this chapter came from the song Monster by Meg and Dia. It wasn't so much the lyrics, though parts or it really do fit, as it was the tune that gave me the inspiration to rewrite this. That and her voice, which really seems to fit for some reason. Through in short parts of Never Alone by Barlow Girl and you pretty much have your songs for this. In true Uglies fashion, I have a quote. So without further adue, here is my hard work. I can have an update ready as soon as like now but prefer at least one review so I know this isn't crap and should be scraped.**

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**Every beginning is a consequence - every beginning ends some thing**

**~Paul Valery**

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**Prolouge Section one:**

**Glitter**

Rain fell hard against the midnight sky, like tiny crystals.

Aya Fuse sat wide awake, despite the late hour. She had long since left her bed, sitting up in a chair instead of the bed. The last few days had been rather hectic-making. She felt it was nearly impossible to sleep.

She flicked on the wallscreen, turning its volume way down so not to wake her sleeping guy. He was an extremely light sleeper. If they didn't have an apartment at Shuffle, Aya didn't know how he would sleep on a night like this. The rain would be completely noise-making in non-double-insulated apartment. Pressing a button on the control pad built into her chair, the glass door to the bedroom shut, allowing her to breathe easy.

She tried to find something interesting on the feeds to help her calm down. There were thousands of reports on the progress of the spacecenters and crazy new surge and click trend reports. Some reports bashed it, saying it was a trend or it was too dangerous. Others seemed to not only accept it, they loved it. But there was nothing Aya hadn't heard already. Finding nothing appealing, Aya turned it off, once more back to square one.

She shifted uneasily, her stomach clenching. She didn't know why she felt so anxious. All she knew was that she really needed to calm down. She pressed a button on her chair. A moment later, her android, 2345, waltzed in.

"Mistress?" came the automated voice.

"Yes, I need something to calm me down. Hot tea and honey and a rex please." She gave the machine a smile, though she was sure pleasantries would not register with it. Without another word it obeyed and Aya was once more the only awake thing in her apartment.

And it that solitude, Aya could feel her mind playing tricks on her. She almost swore for a moment the glass on the window was missing. But that was next to impossible, she knew. There was almost no way to break Shuffle windows.

The next second Aya thought for a moment she heard something. She looked to the bed. Frizz was still out cold. He seemed relaxed, peaceful. Her eyes flashed nervously around the room, hoping that it was just her mind playing tricks on her. There it was again. That noise.

She rose, craning her neck over as she moved toward the source. She walked over to the window, touching its cool surface to ensure it was real. Rain beat down across it, making it take on a gorgeous sheen.

She spun around and almost screamed.

2345 right behind her, a glass and a small pill-pack in its hands. "You startled me." She said, not really sure the android picked up what she'd said above the drone of the rain coming from just outside the window.

She gratefully took the drink and pills, giving a nod to the android who proceeded to go to the corner of the room and shut off. Aya looked out the window one last time before turning to go back to her chair, shoving the pills down her throat and taking a big slurp of the tea.

It warmed her, giving her a relaxed feeling. She knew it would take a while for the medicine to work its magic, so she turned on her eyescreen as she sat. She detachedly looked through her pings. Being the third highest face rank in the world, she had more than her share of pings from everyone across the globe. She ignore most and clicked through people she knew.

There was nothing major. Hiro wanted to go down to the ruins this weekend just to hang. Ren had some upgrades for Moogle he'd like to try. Lani, a girl she'd met at a party, asked her what she should wear tomorrow so they would match. Nothing exciting like a ping from Tally or the Cutters or such. Just few personal messages and loads and loads of fan mail plus a little promotional pings.

She looked up and froze. The air _glistened_ for a moment, like it was wet. She stared on in disbelief. She shook it off. She was probably just being paranoid and—crap there it was again.

She'd heard a report somewhere that hovercams were getting more sophisticated. Some had cloaking devices and could disappear like a person in a sneak suit. The thought was unsettling to say the least for people like her. She was a shy girl and hated her privacy being interrupted. She felt a little peeved off. Shuffle was supposed to be protected against this sort of thing, safe from nearly the whole world.

She smirked. Well, two could play at that game. She would expose this brain-missing plan before they exposed her. She flexed her finger, feeling Moggle go through its little boot-up. She directed its attentions wordlessly towards the last place the air had shimmered.

She then placed her hand on the controls and grinned as she spotted the button she needed. It was mostly for parties; sprinklers overhead could spray out sparkles. But one night she'd found out it was useful for something other than that when a drunken party-goer had stumbled across her room and thought it'd be cool to spy on her.

With the twitch of her finger, the sprinklers activated, misting the apartment in a fine shroud of glittering sparkled. A techno mix song started playing softly and a disco ball shone overhead.

But Aya's grin disappeared as she eyed her intruder. A man stood before her, not three yards away. In his hand was a cruel looking dagger. His features remained masked, but he was there, as clear as the rain outside wasn't.

She was too shocked to scream, to move, to do anything but sit there baffled. The figure looked poised to run, just waiting for her scream to fling himself out the window. When it didn't come, he relaxed and took a step towards her. There was something about him that seemed a little off; if he was going to kill her, wouldn't he have done it already? She didn't speculate that that couldn't be, but he was the one with the dagger.

The medicine had unfortunately picked then to take effect. Aya's shock was mixed with the sudden urge to sleep and it didn't help that the man was now mere inches away. She cowered back and in a last ditch effort, she pushed herself to let out a piercing scream.

The man jumped backwards. Frizz shot up in the other room and rushed to the glass door when he eyed the man. The android also sprung to life and within an instant was on the man. It's iron hand caught the man as Frizz struggled with the glass door, which oddly enough would not open no matter how hard he or Aya tried.

The man's hand suddenly started glowing red then a starlit blue. Aya almost screamed when the android's hand melted. The man's other hand started glowing as well and he lashed out, his fist landing in the middle of the android's centre system. It fell back like the spare parts it now was.

The man turned, looking at Aya in an almost forlorn fashion. Suddenly there was a loud crash as Frizz had finally made headway with the door. Before he could get a move in on him though, the man raced toward the window. Aya found her legs and ran right after him, stopping only when he smashed into the window, instantly disappearing as the rain embraced his body.

Aya looked out the window, but the only evidence of her odd guest was a steady stream of sparkles going down the storm drain.

Frizz came up to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. She turned towards him and he pulled her into his arms. She just couldn't believe it. Their apartment had not only been broken into, but he had tried too….

He let her go, his big magna eyes looking into hers as he held her shoulders. "What's going on? Who was that?"

She stumbled for a moment, trying to find the words. "I—I don't know. But I'm going to find out." She said with as much conviction as she could muster.

She looked over her shoulder as a beeping noise came. She smiled when she saw Moggle's eye. It had gotten all of it on tape.

She turned back towards the window, looking through the rain. Somewhere, whoever it was was watching them, probably not too far away.


	2. Message

**God. This chapter I actually edited a little. You guys wanted fluff and well, let's just say there is not place to put it in the next chapter or the next one or the next one actually. Cause right after this, we get into the action. But this one works out perfectly, because it was shorter that I liked anyways, but I actually came up with a serious cute mental image here. That and I have, guess what, a song for it. Yes, once more I looked to beautiful music for inspiration. So for this chapter we have Beautiful Love by the Afters. I suggest you listen to it while reading the little fluff I have written. I did and when I reread it with that song on…ohhh chills.**

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Chapter 2: A strange message

Early that morning, Aya sent out the footage of the man covered in sparkles.

At first, she hadn't been sure she should right away, but Hiro assured her that she was safe and that someone might know something about the attack. As people devoured the story about the third-most-famous-person-in-the-world's near brush with death, Aya was suddenly swamped with endless and repetitive pings, more so than usual even. Theories about this, thoughts on that. Even Nana Love had a million-and-one ideas for who it was that had done it.

But Aya ignored almost every one. She set up a search for a group of pings in particular, the Cutters. Tally had not pinged her, but Aya knew that most of the time she was unreachable anyways. But much to her dismay, not of the other Cutters had either.

So she returned to the endless list, looking through them carefully. None seemed to be any help. The Nameless One and his clique was busy saying it was one of the Extras and that the space stations should be brought down now before any more damage happened. Aya ignored all of them, knowing that they were nothing, just like him. Various pings seemed to think it was a sign there was a new group of Specials. Some even claimed to have pictures of them, but Aya could tell they were just surges done under the impression the history books gave you of Specials. The real ones, like Tally and Shay, were much worse…

Giving a deep sigh, Aya turned off her eye screen to see Frizz's magna eyes staring back at her. She gave a less-then-triumphant smile to him and he beamed back. Aya was suddenly glad he had decided to keep the truth surge; it made every moment so real even if it was a pain sometimes.

"No good huh?" he asked, his expression indicating he was already sure of the answer.

"The whole world just can't seem to understand how it was last night. There was something about the way he acted—I don't know…" Aya looked out the window, shiny particles speckling the deep grey streets as a strange but real reminder of last night's break in. All the questions, they were so baffling.

How could anyone, no matter how many surges they'd had, break into Shuffle without a Special's reflexes?

She felt warm arms around her, not being able to keep the grin off her face as Frizz gave a soft kiss to her cheek. "Listen. I know how bogus this is going to sound right now, but you really should listen to yourself. You never know what answers may be hidden in your own mind."

"Frizz, it can't be right. What I'm thinking, it just makes no sense." For the first time in months, Aya felt a ping of uncertainty. She'd always thought once she was famous, she'd never have to raise a pinky. But here she was. And she'd raised and risked much more then a pinky. And the most terror-making thing of it was Frizz might be in danger as well. She couldn't stand the thought of loosing him…

Frizz held her in his arms tightly, his own body against hers reassuring. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, his head was facing hers, one of his lips curled up in a wry grin. Their faces were just mere inches away.

She moved in, bobbing her head down just before her lips hit his in a taunting gesture for a moment. Her eyes stayed closed and she could feel his breath, still slightly mint-y from the toothpaste capsule. She couldn't help but lick her lips a little as she waited.

Their lips met, soft caresses sending her head spinning. She pulled away for a moment, taunting him, trying to push him into a deeper kiss.

He didn't fail her. His lips met hers, probably the sweetest, most gentle kiss she'd had in a long time. She let her senses engulf her as her eyes shut, hitting her like a welcome tidal wave. Her fingertips grasped his hands for a moment, lacing in between his fingers. They were smoothed, his nails well kept and his hands soft as every pretty. His scent smothered her, leaving a tingling in her nostrils. It was something like ginger water and tea, strong and intoxicating. She could hear his heart faintly; its every pump reassuring against her own racing heart. Could feel the lack of oxygen as he held his breath. He never did breathe whenever he kissed, said it made it so much more surreal. His lips were warm and soft against hers, smooth and sensitive as she bit his lip gently.

She groaned as he pulled away. She wasn't done though, and aggressively moved once more for another kiss, this one much stronger and filled with all the emotions she had at that moment, from the fear of last night to the excitement of being on another case, to all the emotion she was feeling for him at that moment. It was a much wilder kiss, the kind that would leave her feeling spacey afterwards. She didn't care though.

She cupped his face with her hands and shivered as she felt his own hands caressing her back. She felt her heart fluttering as she held him close, wanting the kiss to go on and on forever. Mostly, he let her dominate, allowing her to choose how she wanted to go. Finally, after some time, the two were force to separate or suffocated. But they both kept their eyes closed for a moment, their foreheads touching in the heat of passion.

In truth, the feeling of his body heat against hers was probably the best part for her, and that was saying a lot. But ever since last night she'd had this unshakable chill, this feeling like everything was about to fall apart. No matter what she did, it didn't go away.

But for a short, sweet moment, his body against hers and their foreheads touching with the feel of his breath running down her neck and the dizzying after effects of their kiss along with the feeling of being safe for the second, she completely disregarded everything.

She let her eyes flutter open, looking up at him through her eye lashes. He wasn't particularly tall, but he didn't need to be to be taller than her. He had his eyes open and the sweetest, most gentle expression shone through along with the continuous sense of innocence she got when she was with him. She could feel his hands once more around her waist and got butterflies bouncing up and down in her stomach.

She let her eyes wander for a moment. Everything around them suddenly had taken on such a rich beauty. The world outside was refreshed and clear from last night's rain. The sky was crisp and blue, buildings taking on an unearthly sheen. From the shuffle mansion, she could peer into the distant valley, with its crystalline river and the elegant trees rising into the air.

Everything was so perfect as he held her, his hands caressing her waist. It was just right. Everything was right, perfect. Clean. The whole world was theirs and they belonged to the world. She looked into his deep magna eyes, a clear sparkle in them. The smile across his lips was so perfect, so clean and inviting. His lips were a little red and his face flushed to match their shade. A warm feeling enveloped her as she stared at him and realized there was no other place they could belong at that moment. Nor would she want to be anywhere else.

Three words came to mind, natural and clear. The only words that could possibly begin to express how she felt at that moment. "I love you." They were the most true, honest words she'd ever spoken, coming straight from her heart.

As he stared into her eyes, he spoke the best words he could have ever spoken at that moment. "I love you too." The words hit her like a comet and were even more beautiful to her ears. More beautiful than anything she'd seen or heard in her whole life. More beautiful than the jungles, with its elegant waterfalls and endless flowers and wildlife. More so than the stars, brilliant burning bright balls of white-hot gas. More beautiful than the first frost, even if the diamond frost was actually real diamonds. Nothing she could even begin to fathom hit her as hard or as true or, most of all, as amazingly.

Suddenly, she got an urgent ping, filling up her eyescreen. She flashed him a quick, apologetic smile as she tore away from his embrace and sat down on the bed to properly read it. It wasn't a normal ping, not anywhere close. It had no name attached to it. No face, no reference. Not even the usual, giddy detail. Eagerly, she opened it, hoping it could possibly be Tally, cloaking her message to keep the city's interface from reading it.

It was a brief, twenty word message, but as Aya read it, all its possible meanings shifted around in her brain.

_New discovery made. Please meet at ruins outside of town at twelve o'clock sharp. Come alone or not at all._

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**Thanks for the reviews guys. I really have some good ideas for this story, so sit tight. The first few chapters are actually kind of a prologue almost. Westerfield kind of annoyed me with all the questions he's left completely wide open. Here if this story, I'm going to attempt to close all the questions left unanswered by him. So sit tight! Please note also that I am not Scott, just a fan obsessed with writing who had inspiration to write a story where even Westerfield's generous boundaries are tested…And please do review because the day I stop getting enough reviews to make this worth my time, I can and will stop as I have like a million other stories in the works right now that I am also on… **


	3. Secret

**So, this was supposed to be part of my second mega update, but I failed to get inspiration for the rest of my stories. So instead, I decided it, like my longest-ever story, would be a three part X-mas gift to you guys, starting to day. I for sure will have three chapters ready for you guys. I hope you guys really like it because here is the chapter we begin to dabble into the reasons for a few of the questions I've put up and also be ready for a shock. After this, we start to get really much faster paced, so hang on tight! Next chapter is the begining of my typical cycles in stories of anwsering tons of questions just as I pose tons more. I'm glad you guys seem to like it so far. Enough blabbing, here it is:**

**Song: Fully Alive by Flyleaf**

**Chapter 3: The secret room**

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Aya snuck around the edges of town, working her way to the ruins at a dreadfully slow pace.

She felt rather naked and exposed without the eyes of her boyfriend or hover-cam on her though. They had decided it was best to go alone. Still, one of them had been almost constantly with her since…well…the beginning of the new age.

She snuck through the crumblies and late pretties houses, eying her old home and being especially careful going past her parent's home to give it a great girth. They hadn't been too pleased upon the discovery of all her recent adventures and would be even less pleased to know she was doing it again.

As she worked her way away from the sights of her childhood, Aya could help but worry about who was waiting in such an isolated place. She knew if things got ugly, all she'd need to do would be flick on her skintenna, but even still fear weld up within her. Only less then a half a day ago, someone had tried to kill her and now she was meeting with some random person?

At the same time that it felt wrong, she needed answers. She nervously adjusted the crash bracelets on her wrists and was rewarded with a light tug revealed. Her hover board was still tailing her. At least if something went wrong, she'd have a back up plan.

Aya reached the ruins right in time.

Out past a building, a tall shadow also made itself obvious. She casually headed to the middle of town, other person mirroring her every move.

Soon he was in seeing distance. He was taller then most men in her city, but he hid his face in shadow, cloaking it behind a black robe. Aya could see from his stance that he was a pretty though.

"You came alone, right?" he asked, eyes flashing from beneath his hood back and forth, chasing every shadow.

"Yes." she answered. "Not that it really matters, but who are you?"

He seemed to think for a moment, not sure what name to give out. "Just call me Nas." He said detachedly. "Follow me." Nas turned towards a dark building full of decay. Aya hesitated. She couldn't know what lay beyond those walls…

But curiosity got the best of her and soon she was right behind him.

"I thought this city was supposed to be torn down soon." Aya said. As soon as she finish, Nas was ready with an answer. It unsettled her for a moment, as if he knew just what she was thinking…

"It is. I work for a special company. We are to inspect the ruins, make sure there's nothing of historical significance in them."

"And you found something?" Aya finished. Nas nodded, a flash of pretty eyes once more visible.

"Have you ever heard of the Framers?" Nas asked.

Aya gave him a confused shrug, the name not bringing anything to mind.

"Well then, you will. I think this'll be something you'll never forget." He stopped at a place where the floor had fallen out. He turned on a magnetic flashlight and without warning, grabbed Aya's hand and plunged into the darkness. He dropped her hand in the air and bee lined downwards, diving into the darkness as if it was a pool. But not her. Instead, she hooked the edge under her chipped fingernails. Aya let out a hoarse cry as she clung tightly to the edge, hanging like a weight on a half way broken through string. Her shoulders screamed as they were wrenched from her body, sending a wave of pain through her.

"Drop down!" She heard Nas call from bellow. "I'll catch you!" A light shone one her, blinding her for a moment in the darkness. But she couldn't see the source from bellow, it was too far down. Still, her shoulders screamed in sheer agony, surprised she'd lasted even this long. Should she trust this man who threw her down here in the first place? She suddenly realized she had no choice. Her shoulder could barely hold up, much less pull her up. She was trapped. She sighed and released her grip, sending her body shooting noiselessly though the stale, dark abyss, her stomach churning rapidly.

Her eyes finally caught hold of the ground as her frame plowed towards it. Just as she was sure her crash bracelets wouldn't work, a pair of arms grabbed her out of mid air. She looked up to see Nas smiling.

"You're really heavy, you know." He grunted as he lowered her down to the ground. She eyed the hoverball equipment on his body. How could she have missed he was wearing that? His cloak was gone and perfect skin shimmered in the low light. She caught his gorgeous pretty eyes and half shadowed features and was stunned for a moment, as usually happened from looking into a pretty face. Somehow, she felt she knew him, but was sure she didn't…

Finally over her trance, she scowled. "You could have killed me! What were you thinking?"

"Well, I could have just let you splat you know. Maybe I will next time. It actually hurts less then you'd expect. I fell down here last night. Would have missed this if the floor hadn't been so weak." He raised the light, flashing across deep looking cuts. Aya cringed. Why hadn't he had those looked at?

But a moment later, as the light found its final resting place, it suddenly completely slipped her mind.

There was an operation tank, broken and ancient, sitting in the corner. All the devices were massive. Many looked like ones she'd seen banned in cosmetology classes. But they all paled in comparison to what was in the other corner. A skeleton was leaning against another tank. A twisted expression forever plastered across a dusty, ivory face.

But she lost all care for that as she stared at the tank. There was something…in it… Nervously, she sighed as the light shifted. A gleam bounced off the viscous, pale liquid inside. As the light filled the tank, Aya gasped. Inside the preserving goo, meant to protect surgees from loosing blood, floated a lifeless form.

There was no obvious cause of death from far off, but just its perfectly still body was enough to prove that it was for sure dead. All the equipment still held fast to its skin. Breathing tubes, all sorts and sizes of monitors, even scalpels, frozen in time as they prepared to plunge into its skin. A small pocket of blood even stained the nearby liquid where a nasty looking wound was located.

The figure itself had no hair, but even still, dark skin portrayed an exotic beauty, even in death. Not quite the same she had seen in a Special; much wilder but at the same time, she could see an innocence about the creature. A fake innocence, used as a disguise. But she could see if its jaw shifted ever so slightly, it would turn inhuman; alien and predator like. Like a hawk disguised as a bunny.

Its stature was short and thin and even from a distance Aya could see its bones were flexible. It was strange to see such a combination on a normally fierce looking foe; reasons for such a thing twisting around in her head like a failing hoverboard.

Speckling across its whole body was a pattern of jewels, seemingly random. Each one varied in size and color. They almost seemed to be glowing dimly. Part of her expected it to still be alive. She could just imagine its big eyes opening; to gaze with a demented innocence at her.

She moved forward, trying to get a better look, each step revealing more. There seemed to be no hair at all on its body. Not even true eyelashes, but nerved lashes, able to give the eye a depth in vision the likes of which had never been known any other way. Its nails were sharpened to a point and obviously hollow. A bit of blackened liquid shimmer in one's tip.

Once Aya was close enough, she could finally see what killed it. The breathing tubes meant to keep it alive were filled with the fluid, a small hole betraying it to its grave.

She could also finally determine it was female. Though its body looked as if there was no way for it to be fertile. Also standing out in the gloom of the black room was a rather disturbing thing about its flawless skin. It wasn't skin at all, but peachy smooth, interlocking scales. Each was small, but obviously strong. They reminded her of a sneak suit.

"What is she?" Aya asked breathlessly.

"She is what we are down here for. One of the few accessible bodies of her kind ever to be seen intact." Nas said from her left side.

"Ya, but what is she?" Aya asked, a little irritated he ignored her question.

"I was getting to that." He raised one, tattoo covered hand and touch the ancient glass. "She is a Framer." He said softly.

Aya growled at him. "A what?" she said, beginning to think he spoke the way he did just to annoy her.

"A Framer. Supposedly, they were a group of extremely powerful, but rare people. Supposed to be pure myth. You see how true that is." He heaved out a sigh as he retracted his hand from the glass. "Only 50 Framers were supposed to be allowed to live at one time."

"You mean, there are more of these things?" Aya asked, astonished. She could not imagine what fifty of these things could do. Just this dead one alone seemed like it could catch, maybe even kill, her easy. And this one was probably years, maybe decades old by its decomposition.

"Many more." Nas replied darkly. Aya blinked. She was transfixed by the dead Framer. Each sculpted detail seemed too dainty for even the most skilled surgeon to create. She had to know more.

She turned to Nas. "Do you know anything more about them?"

Nas shrugged. "Give me your hand and I'll show you."

She reached for his hand without question. As their hand met, she felt a pin prick of pain, like a quick shot. It was so quick, she wasn't even sure what it was for a moment. But as she looked at her finger, a little glob of blood blurred into her vision. Suddenly, her legs felt wobbly beneath her weight and her body became washed out.

Nervously, she looked at Nas. On his face was a cruel grin. He raised his hand to reveal a hypodermic nail, much like the Framer's. Suddenly, it all fit.

"Why?" She said, her voice staggering from her lips.

"Because you are to the next one." He said more, but it was all lost. Her jumbled mind tried to make sense of his words but failed miserably. As her vision darkened though, she could see his features morphing, becoming more powerful and frightening.

It was gone after that, but she could feel herself beginning to rise before she blanked out.

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**Ha ha bet you guys love that little cliffy. Get used to them with me. I'll leave them unanswered sometimes for many chapters. Just incase you guys are curious ever, my avatar pic is my inspiration how a Framer looks. Originally, I had had few ideas about how to do this right. And I wanted a cool, high fashion pic to give a detailed image to anyone who wanted it, like they gave us of an ugly or pretty or special or extra. To give full credit to the original owners, I'd like to say that this pic is from America's Next Top Model for the Swarovski crystal challenge. The contestant's name is Gina Choe.**


	4. Wanted

**Merry Christmas day guys! Time to unwrap your second present! Here we have chapter four, Wanted. As I had promised, some serious question answering and creating here. I do like this chapter...**

**Any ways, enough blabber. The song for this one is Long to Go by From Autumn to Ashes. Most, if not all, of it really does fit and it is pretty cool to listen to while reading so...**

**Enjoy!**

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A blurry golden light shining overhead was soon revealed to be the sun.

It stared down at Aya, perfectly understandable even in her head. Everything else was so jumbled up; there was just no way to make sense of bit of any of the seemingly random thoughts that floated around. It was all so sketchy, blot of this and that was all that came to her. She remembered something about falling, then seeing…something, then the next thing she knew of was being out cold.

And there was someone…what was his name?

Aya let out a groan before groggily stretching her neck. She tried to stretch her arms and legs, but found herself unable to move them. While her missing mind, she tried to make sense of it.

One arm lay limp on the floor in an awkward position; the other was comfortable laid across her stomach. Her dirt caked legs were both spread out before her; her torso was propped up against a tree. For the fist time, she became painfully aware that one source of her fuzzy-headedness was a gash on the back of her head obviously from her head hitting something. The other source was in her arm; a small, makeshift I-V, trickling a sticky brown fluid into her veins at a lethargic pace.

She looked around, trying to judge where she was. She was in some forest clearing somewhere not too far from her city; the trees looked like the same kinds near the border of it at least. There was a makeshift camp surrounding her, crude tent and fire looking like they could disappear in minutes. Her eyes searched for some way out, hoping there was something she could use.

"Having fun?" A dreadfully familiar voice spoke, though as she turned to find its source, there was no one there. She desperately searched for it, before her still-dazzled brain put two and two together.

"Turn off your sneak suit and talk to my face." She spat, now also aware of the painful dryness in her throat. She licked the roof of her mouth, hoping to wet it a little. Her mouth felt like licking unglazed pottery. Dry and rough.

She heard a soft laugh at her request "Fine." As this was said, suddenly the full figure of a man appeared. But he looked anything but human. His skin was a ghostly white. Not a hair was present on his head. His eyes were a shiny silver, but his pupils were not black but a dark shade of blue. Beneath strange, pearl white clothing, a bizarre pattern of jeweling sparkled on his flesh in the clearing's sunlight. He was no more then four feet, six inches. Maybe even shorter. But he compensated for it she could see, his bare feet floating in the air. He managed to float at her height of an awkward five-seven. His face glowed in innocence, but as he moved towards her, part of it shifted to something sinister.

She couldn't take his eyes off him, but slowly and almost unnoticeably, his feature faded, becoming less intense. His skin darkened to a golden tan and shoots of dark hair became a mane of shiny black hair. His stature grew to her height, no longer floating either. His pupils blackened, but their irises' remained a ghostly silver. His face became that of an average pretty. And if not for the burnished silver irises and jeweling on his skin, he would be able to pass as a regular pretty. She shivered at the thought of such things going so easily missed.

Seeing his big pretty eyes suddenly brought everything back. The Framers, the dead one and now obviously the one standing in front of her. The blood on her finger trickling out as her consciousness left her. She hissed at him, who was obviously Nas, turning away as best she could while drugs still coursed through her system.

"I see you remember last night then." He sat down, facing her. "I'm sorry I had to do this. But you were followed and I couldn't have had him see me."

"Wait, I was followed? By who?" Aya turned back to him, making sure he wasn't lying.

"That little boyfriend of yours. He likes you too much. If you're not careful, they could use that against you." Nas's voice sounded amused, but in his eyes there was a graveness that was hard to bear down on such a beautiful face.

"Frizz followed me? Wait—who could use that against me?" Aya asked, her voice still groggy.

"Anyone, to tell the truth." Nas said, smiling smugly, eyes not loosing any intensity.

"Yes, but who do you mean?" Aya growled. He liked to annoy her…

"Who do you think? Certainly not the bubbleheads…" Aya growled again. "Don't get testy. The Framers could, that's all I meant."

Aya couldn't help but be confused. "But aren't you a Framer?"

"Well…yes and no…" he said, scratching his head like a wild monkey she'd seen in Singapore.

"What do you mean?" she asked, trying to control her temper about his vagueness.

"By body and socially I am. But I do not have the Framer mind set anymore…" Nas replied.

"Huh?"

"Ahh...all of you are just Bumbles! How do you expect anyone beat the lesions? Do you think it just happens magically?" He flexed his hand as he finished, a sarcastic tone rising in his voice. Aya raised her brow at his strange language.

"Didn't someone invent a pill or something to take care of them?" Aya asked. Nas shifted slightly.

"Yes, but some people didn't need it. They obviously weren't like you. Bumble." She wasn't sure she liked that word. It sounded very unflattering…

"Well then, what do you do to beat the lesions? And what's a Bumble?"

Nas grinned at her. "As far as the second question goes, I won't tell you if you don't know already. But the first, that is complicated..." He crossed his legs, getting comfortable. Aya had hoped that he'd be close enough that she could do something to him to get loose, but he was just out of reach. Her eyes flashed over to the I-V in her arm. It was still almost all the way full and it drizzled into her veins at a sluggish rate. It could be hours before the vile was empty. More even till she regained control over her arms and legs. Nas smiled menacingly. "Now that you finally realize there is no escaping, could you let me go on?"

Aya raised a brow at him. "How'd you..."

"It's a Framer thing."

"So what? Can you read my mind or something?"

"If you wanna put it that way, ya sort of...but I'll explain that later. Now, whenever someone gives you lesions, there are three ways out of it. One, as you mentioned, is a pill. It eats away lesions in your brain. But the downside to that is that if they are not switched off in time, they often eat away a lot more then just the lesions. Of course, a new pill was developed after a while, but it does just as another treatment. But this was the original version." Aya looked at him. His arm was quivering slightly as he said this. She could see why. She could never see herself being so desperate to rid herself of microscopic things on her brain that she'd put something there designed to eat them-along with anything that got in their way.

"Second, you can have them surgically removed. You must be pretty careful, though. Only the most skilled surgeons can do it properly." Again, Aya quivered at this idea. Someone touching her brain in the first place seemed ultimately creepy, but the idea of them removing something from her brain just served to scare her altogether. Nas also seemed not to really like that alternative.

"And the final thing is the trickiest of all. You see, Aya, lesions are really a smart invention. They can stop people from doing things without them even knowing. But sometimes, you can rewire your brain around them."

"Rewire? Like a power cable?"

Nas nodded. "Our bodies are designed to overcome adversity. But the thing is, it takes a lot to do something like that. With usual lesions, they are designed to block the circuits in your brain. But if you really deify them, if you push hard enough, you can form a new connection." he sighed. "But if it was that easy, I know every Framer in the Hive would be with me now. We have the most advanced technology there is. And it only gets better too. They invented a type of smart lesions. Before, they kept everyone in line with fear. But now, for the past thirty years, they've been experimenting and have made a new breed of lesion. One designed to reproduce and cover these connections when they are made. The theory is that once a certain amount is made, eventually, the body gives up, surrendering to the lesions' will."

"But you're here, aren't you? You beat the lesions, didn't you?" Nas nodded.

"I learned if something is powerful enough, you can break right through them, disabling them permanently. Someone else did it. I knew her for a short time. She tried to get more followers and I was a fresh recruit of the Hives of Framers at the time; the one who replaced her actually. She should have never returned to the Hive once she had broken the lesions. But she was always full of adventure and trouble. Her name was Faera."

"What happened to her?"

"You actually met her..." Nas said in a sad tone, looking down.

"What do you-" Then it hit her. "I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

"It's okay. She knew her risks...You and the rest of the world really owe her though. She did things that have resulted in the way the world is to date." Aya gave him a puzzle look. Nas smiled. "Don't worry. There's a lot they never teach you in the history books."

"I really wish you'd quit doing that..."

"Doing what?"

"Reading my mind. I'm not an open book you can just check out of the library and read."

He smirked at her.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

"No, it's just that you think I needed to read your mind to know what you were thinking there...It was written on your face."

She growled at him and he smirked again. She could feel her cheeks flush with embarrassment. "Do you enjoy making me mad?"

"Ya, kind of. Beats being a bubblehead." His grin grew bigger, as if he made his mouth was bigger just for the task. She could feel her cheeks flush again.

"Ya, I suppose it does." Aya said softly.

Nas raised his arm and touched her numb shoulder. "Before I forget, there is one thing, Aya, that I need to talk to you about." He moved over to the I-V and carefully switched the brown liquid out with a clear one. Instantly, as it entered her bloodstream, Aya suddenly felt her limbs getting less heavy. He left the needle in for a few seconds before popping it out of her. Aya bit her lip. His scaly skin wasn't just strange. It was frozen to the touch, sending shivers up and down her spine as his cold flesh touched hers. Nas put a bandage over the small wound before continuing. "When I leave you at the city, I must ask you this one thing." Aya let him know she was listening, staring into his metallic eyes. He had the upmost seriousness written across his face as he spoke, his voice low. "Aya, they want you. I am sorry for bring this upon you but now there is no going back."

"What?" Aya asked, confused.

"Now that I've left the Hive, I can never return. I would be killed. And they are going to need someone to fill my place. I listened into their lines and they are going to try and capture you for it."

"Why me?" The second Aya asked this, she knew why. She was the third most powerful person in the world. Second if it ever got out about the Framers trying to capture her. And with all this, it made sense that they'd want her. She'd proved herself.

"And, unlike most people whom they recruit, you can be used as a spy." Nas added.

"On who?"

"You should be able to answer that yourself...Everyone in the city. And one other person..." Nas's face intensified and once again he had a demented innocence about him.

"Tally Youngblood? But I don't even know where she is..."

"They're confident you'll find her, but no. They are actually more interested in me. They know I will contact you, for the good or bad. They always knew I'd feel guilty about leading them onto you. But then again, it's not the first time I have done something like that..." His face went distant.

She looked at him questionably. "Are you okay?"

He shook it off. "It's nothing..." She wasn't a Framer. She wasn't a Special. She wasn't even a Pretty. But she could see the lie in his eyes. He tried to disguise it, but it was there written on his scaly face.

"You should go. They are probably already searching for you. You must not go hunting for them, Aya. Even one could bring you down with both their hands behind their back. They'd just grow another one." He leaned over and tugged on her crash bracelet. Small reply came and before long, her board was in front of her, ready to ride. Nas helped her on, though she didn't need much. Her legs were recovering swiftly. She focused and quickly found her balance.

Before she knew it, the camp ground was fading into the distance. She took one last look back, watching as Nas's form shifted into the shadows.

* * *

**Please feel free to tell me what you think about Nas. He obviously is going to be a seriously reoccurring character and will play a huge part in the plot of Framers. Also, tell me what you think of the full concept of a Framer. I can promise you that this is not the last of what we shall see of them. It wouldn't be a story if our main villains didn't pop up a half a million times, would it?**


	5. Mistake

**Ya, I did editing again. And let me tell you, I think this is the best chapter I have written in a while. I am officially in love with it. I'll let you guys get to it. It's over 4,000 words…**

**Because this chapter is so massive and I love it so, you are going to need a couple of songs for it. First is Hero/Heroine by Boys Like Girls, We Sleep Forever by Aiden, The Animal I Have Become by Three Day's Grace, and Beethoven's 5****th**** Symphony by Trans Siberian Orchestra feat. Metallica. Listen to those in order and it should pan out pretty damn good…to make it easier, I actually made a playlist for this one. Here's the link:**

**youtube .com/watch?v=bReVwemN5iE&feature=PlayList&p=4D914D8CC4FE736C&index=0 (open another window, copy and get rid of the space)**

**But you have to click "play all" quick k?**

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Aya crept around the edge of town, sneak suit changing with every move.

In the pale light the moon gave off, no one could be seen for kilometers. The Hoverball Cup was tonight, being held for the first time since the mind-rain in Aya's hometown, on the clear other side luckily.

It made perfect cover to sneak off into the darkness to the ruins. Meters above her, Moogle followed nervously. The little hovercam flashed its lights in the dark and Aya gave a soft whistle. Quickly the little cam caught her signal and was zipping after her again, its lights off.

As she moved, Aya couldn't help but feel nervous. In the past two weeks since Nas had first kidnapped her, she'd been followed—even once knocked unconscious—by Framers seven times. Each time Nas had managed to intervene; him or Frizz or even the city. But they were getting desperate and she didn't know if the need to be conspicuous would last. And she knew all of her friends were horrified for her. They were going to get security upgrades and Aya was to have a bodyguard assigned to be with her at all times by tomorrow.

But not before one last kick. Aya knew the only way to be able to beat the Framers would be to expose them into open light. The town already knew something was after her; one time she was chased through the city for a half an hour by a group of almost invisible Framers. The town news feeds had picked up the slightest glimmer of them on accident. Aya had hid what was really happening by saying that it was Hiro mad at her for something and not wanting to let the world know who was chasing her.

But the damage had already been done. Most were convinced she was lying, but few came anywhere close to imagining why she was lying or what she was hiding. The closest guess was that it was a group of new, rouge Specials. And no one, not even the creator of the idea, truly believed it was that serious.

And till Aya had video evidence, they would think she was psycho if she told them what they looked like. Even the Cutters, whom had contacted her about the attacks, worried for their friend, would never believe in someone even stronger then them. Maybe they would to some extent, believe something could be stronger, but not as powerful as a Framer. Much less the group of three or more tailing her.

So that was why she was leaving tonight. To prove to the world Framers were not myth, but very, very real…

It was risky though, one false move and she could wake up on the operating table. All she needed though was one shot of the dead Framer in the tank. Then Nas could have his way and she wouldn't leave the security of the city alone till she was sure the danger had passed. She chuckled bitterly as she remembered asking if Nas would just left her take a video of him. He'd freaked and said it was the stupidest thing he'd heard in a long time.

Soon her eyes rested on the vast ruins. They stood in the moonlight, ghostly reminders of the very real past. One Aya hoped they would never see again. Her mind came to her history lessons, of the last days of the Rusties. She could almost see the massive towers ablaze, bodies lying motionless and people running around in the sheer chaos. Afraid for their lives. All she knew was that this city was once one of the most packed in the world. Over 12 million used to live in this city alone. Theirs was one of the hardest hit nations in the world. She tried to think of what it had been called. She knew it was something beginning with a T.

Time had decayed the horror of the night the oil plague hit. Now it could only serve as a warning. Of what happened when greedy Rusties had gone too far…

Her mind went back to the task ahead. She had brought a bungee jacket, tightly strapped on incase she should loose grip of Moggle as they drop to the chasm floor. As she approached the building she'd only seen in dreams since the last time she'd seen Nas, she whistled softly, almost able to be mistaken as wind. The hovercam, on cue, flew down to the building, nervously flashing its light in response.

With a small pocket light, Aya lead the cam through the building, flashing it so insignificantly, anyone else would think it was just a firefly, meandering aimlessly through the ruins.

Finally, she saw the deep blackness of the chasm, swallowing any and all light of the bright moon above.

Before fastening her hands around the eager hovercam, Aya couldn't help but look down. The vastness of the chamber before her was very nervous-making. Deep down in the darkness, who knew what stirred? They had, after all, not explored the whole chamber last time she'd been down.

Behind her, she could here the wind billowing around; its strength made her uneasy. She knew if she didn't go now, there might not be any going at all. So, finally, she firmly grasped Moggle, its form chilling in the night air.

Moogle took a moment, adjusting to her weight, before rising slowly. Her body rose with it, hovering in the air for a moment. She took a deep breath as if it were water she was about to dive in and not an almost bottomless chasm. Then, Moggle plunged into the darkness. The hovercam's light did little to brighten the chamber. Somehow understanding that, Moggle switched them off. Stealth was vital.

The stale air below her didn't shift much. The main difference between last time's visit was the chill that the air brought to her flesh was stronger, sending ripples of goose bumps down her hidden neck. That and the fact that last time she had not been even ready.

Moggle cut through the still air easily. It had been long since anything had disturbed it much. Aya looked up. Through the thick haze the stale air made, the moon's light was barely visible overhead. Soon it seemed more like a magnetic flashlight under a thick blanket, barely shining through than the bright disk of silver it normally was.

Suddenly, Moggle began to rock. But there was no wind. Then, the terrible thought hit her. The room's metal reserves were sketchy at best. Moggle suddenly dropped drastically. She tried to scream, but the air was too thick and she hadn't gotten used to it yet.

Suddenly, Moggle caught a new source of metal and stopped abruptly. But its stop was too sharp; Aya lost her grip and cut through the thick air. The momentum of its stopped echoed through her bones, causing her to spinning random patterns.

Moggle dove after her, but was too slow compared to her. She dropped like a rock. Soon she could see the floor. A grunt tore from her lips as the bungee jacket found purchase and shot her back up; starting her on a wild series of bounces which tossed her further into the chasm then she ever cared to be.

She whistled for Moggle, hoping the hovercam could stop her from slamming into something. Then her eyes caught the last sight she wanted to see that moment. The wall. She struggled to switch directions, but only succeeded at sending her body spinning out of control.

Her arms caught Moggle at the last minute, before she would have smashed into the wall. Her momentum swung her back and fourth, like a pendulum as she floated. Her stomach sloshed, sending queasy bouts of nausea through her. Her body gradually moved slower and slower till it barely swung, allowing her to feel her racing heart.

Moggle slowly lowered her to the ground, her feet touching down on the soft earth. Her legs took a moment to retain their balance and her heart took some convincing that she wasn't still free falling, but at last she was moments from accomplishing her goal.

She looked around, using Moggle's usually blinding light to see where she was. Though it shone for a great distance, in the vastness of the chamber, there was no way of knowing where she was. She sighed. She was so close! And she only had a short amount of time before the Framers would catch up. She could not afford to mess this up. The penalties were too grave...

Her eyes tried to cut through the darkness, but it was no use. Like a butter knife trying to cut through orbital alloy. Her eyes could see only slightly further then Moggle's shield of light extended.

She could, however, see the walls ridden with equipment. Some familiar, most not. But it all could only mean one thing; the dead Framer was not far away. She made her way to the wall, softly whistling to keep Moggle following her. Through her eyescreen, she saw what it saw. Only the slightest movement of dust gave away her position. Satisfied, she went back to relying on her own vision.

She finally reached a corner...and the tank. The goop within was slightly dingier then it had been last, a tiny crack at the top betraying it, but the sight of what was inside was no less horrific.

She turned her eyescreen on; watching every detail, ensuring Moogle got the shot. But she didn't need to worry. Through the bland blackness, Moggle's lens caught every detail crisp and clear. Somehow, the whole scene was enhanced. The Framer's pointed claws shinning in the light. Her alien figure, crisp as the night air outside. Her jeweled body glowed, as if alive.

As much as she had anticipated it, Aya's body was frozen, stiff with fear at this panic-making sight. But as her eyes shifted around the figure, she saw something wasn't right. Nothing stood out directly, but then again, there was definitely something wrong.

She moved in closer. The Framer was still the same height, with the same alien features. Her body was the same, still suspended in the same goop, forever lost in time. Her nail still had the black liquid in their hollow cavities. But as she looked, she was not consoled.

Then it hit her. It wasn't something extra. It was what was missing. This Framer had no gaping wound in her side...it couldn't be the same one. The more she thought, the more she realized all the small little differences. Slight differences such as the Framer's slightly lighter, but still exotically dark skin. Differences in shades or jewelling on her skin.

Then, as she looked on in horror, a finger seemed to twitch. It could have been her imagination going wild in the traumatizing blackness, but it still freaked her out, to imagine the Framer's eyes flicking open. Her mind ran wild and she suddenly thought about Nas's. They were so unearthly. Such a ghostly silver.

The thought of her springing to life set Aya to back away...

Right into a hand that grabbed her shoulder and...

Spun her around...

To reveal Nas glaring at her.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" He growled. His grip became sub-zero as her held her, as if his body was made of super-chilled ice. The kind of cold that numbs you up before you feel the knifes as heat returns. Aya had to cringe to keep from crying out. Nas had no sympathy; or he simply didn't notice.

"You could have fallen! You could have been caught! You don't want to end up one of them, Aya! They're ruthless and cruel and…" Suddenly, his voice died away. He spun around, looking at something. Aya followed his gaze. But there was nothing. Nothing at all…

"No." Nas whispered softly, horror in his voice. He tensed, clearly ready for a fight.

Then suddenly, Aya's eyes saw…something. It was so faint; it could even not be real. A light. A little, white light. It flashed once, then dispersed into the darkness. Just when Aya was beginning to question if it had ever happened, she saw another, purple and off to her left. Lasting less then a second, but stronger now.

Then another, white again, off way to her right. She turned to throw a questioning look to Nas and opened her mouth, getting even so far as to take a big gulp of thick air for her question when the words choked in her throat. Nas was shaking slightly, a strong, angry expression on his face. But it was not this that had her frozen in fear. Nas's eyes were glowing red. The little jewels on his skin flashed in an angry, wild pattern, all variations of red.

Her eyes widened and she tore her gaze from the sight to see another light, this one orange. Then the other lights flashed back. All getting stronger and lasting longer.

Suddenly, on all sides, dozens of lights flashed in the same angry pattern Nas was. It was overwhelming. Nas extended his limbs, letting a few on his arm glow. But the lights around them still grew stronger. He pulled her back towards the wall. She shivered, but not due to his cool touch. His wild patterns continued, getting stronger and sharper and angrier than before. Nas pushed her behind him, guarding her.

In the strobe-like lights, the silhouettes of three figures shone. Their features were undistinguishable in the flashing lights. Suddenly Nas's calmed to a pattern of bright silvers and golds. The others did likewise, but each in completely different patterns and colors. They rested, no longer flashing wildly but constant. Every little gem across Nas's body shone brightly. They lit up her horrified face and she could see Nas's teeth bared, slammed together with such force, Aya though they would shatter.

In the calmed lights, Aya could see each in clearer detail now. One looked more feminine; the other two looked a little masculine. Though not much. They were short and lanky, obviously not a hair to be seen.

The female looking one was approaching in the middle, soft blues, yellows and reds glowing in a soft, loose pattern of gems crusting all over her body. Her form was much like the dead Framer's. Strange, foreign looking clothes covered her figure. Her eyes, glowing just as Nas's silver ones or any of the other ones surrounding them, were a sharp, metallic blue. Her face, much like Nas's, had a demented innocence to it. Like a wolf in sheep's clothes. Her skin was a fair white, not as ghostly as Nas's, but it made her look like a fine porcelain doll. Unlike the other two Framers, she was almost as tall as Aya.

The man to her left had a figure just like Nas's. He was short and had much stronger looking muscles. His skin was like the goldest shade of brown possible, almost shimmering in the light of his sharp bronze and red gems. His demented face held little innocence, unlike the rest. He had a twisted grin on his face, bronze eyes shining brightly.

The final man was barely visible. His body had simple gems of dull white, and though his strong electric green eyes were bright, they did a good job of somehow still hiding his face. Then Aya realized that his skin was actually charcoal black, not shining at all. All she could really see was his eyes, piercing and green.

Nas stood in their way. He protectively her pushed against the tank, its cold surface echoing through her skin in waves of goose bumps.

Nas nodded at the far the green eyed Framer. "Axton? Rye? Maqs? Nice to see you." Nas called out sarcastically.

"Nice to see _you_,Nas. Especially after that stunt you pulled." A female voice called out, a strong ring of sarcasm rising up. She could see the female, Rye Nas had called her, flashing violently. Nas's lights flash vibrantly back.

"That's not fair. I seem to recall at the time you were in it with me. Till you chickened out…" Nas said back.

"Why would we?" the one Nas called Maqs retorted. "End up like you? All alone? Running from the government and trying to thwart our plans for the next Framer?"

"Axton, come on! You were so close!" Nas taunted

There was no reply. Only flashing lights. Each seemed to be talking through them, though all they did to Aya was make her head spin. Finally Nas spoke again.

"I assume you are stalling for Tzipi?" He asked.

"Why would they need to stall for me?" Another female voice cut through the air, coming from behind Aya. She looked up. To her horror, the tank had broken. On top of it, a mad looking Framer stood. Her eye were average looking compared to the rest, a glowing amber, though her body was everything but. The pattern of gems on her was a vibrant rainbow of reds, silvers, and an ominous blue color. She was all demented, no innocence. In her deadly, curved claws was a thick yellow liquid. Her features were sharp and crisp. All normally round features were cut into crude angles like a special. Her skin was like shimmery black onyx. She raised an eyebrow slightly at Aya.

Nas raised his claws to Aya's throat suddenly. Her body froze. "Come any closer and I'll kill her."

"Now Nas. Don't do anything rash. All we want it the girl and we'll be on our way." Tzipi said cockily, clearly sure he wasn't going to go through with it. "Besides, we both know you won't do it."

"Don't be so sure…you can say that now. But nothing ever lasts in the Hive. They'll be man hunts for me in two days." His fingers pricked her neck a bit. Aya cried out in surprise as blood pooled on her neck. She watched steady stream flow down her neck, combining with her sweat before landing on the floor with a faint splash. "This was what I was going to do originally. Then you'd need a new candidate. Don't test me, Tzipi."

She looked into his eyes for a moment, wondering what he meant. And they it hit her. That night, more than two weeks ago. The man who broke into Shuffle with the knife. The way he'd looked at her… "It was you." Aya whispered. Nas nodded grimly.

"Nas, honestly. If you do that, we'll just kill you now. And then you won't stop us from our goal. Do it. You lose either way." Tzipi retorted.

Nas took a second, but eventually lowered his claws. Tzipi smiled.

"Walk away now, Nas. And we will be on our way. We'll say we never saw you." She could hear Rye say, but her full attentions were of Tzipi and the wild thrill of victory on her face. Nas growled in response.

"Fine then. Have it your way…" Tzipi replied, a clear, frightening tone in her voice that made Aya sure she wanted to kill Nas.

Nas grabbed Aya, pulling her back away from the tank and towards the wall. The Framers moved in, surrounding them on all sides. They were trapped. Nas still stood protectively over her, but four Framers to Framer, a hovercam, and an ugly were terrible odds. Nas looked nervous, his Framer disposition disrupted because of his plight.

"Please Nas." Rye's voice pleaded softly. "Just give us the girl."

Still, in a cool, steady voice, Nas declared, "Never."

Aya straightened up, suddenly feeling much braver. He was willing to risk his own life to save her. But she could not let him. "Nas, let me go. You can't risk your life for me."

"No, Aya…"

"Ah so we did make a good choice in choosing you after all. You should listen to that ugly, Nas. Better to be beat then dead." Tzipi remarked, the group pausing for a minute.

"But…" Nas started.

"No, Nas. Just go." Aya said defiantly. She would not back down.

"Aya, you can't. Don't let them take you. After all you worked for, how hard it was to get here without being caught. Don't give in." She tried to pull away but his grip was a vice, binding her tightly in place.

"You know what they are going to do to you? They're going to turn you into a monster. A cold, heartless, vile _creature_. Framers are obedient little puppies." Here she heard an angry growl from one, though she couldn't tell which.

"They are forced to save the world. You walk away from me now and your life is over." Aya froze at his words, eyes darting to his face. A soft smile played across his features.

Nas could tell he hit a nerve, so he moved closer to her, his cold breath whispering softly but gravely in her ear. "No more Frizz. No Hiro. No Moggle. No anyone…Just bunch of random strangers. No parties. No love…not even real friendship. You'll never be a grandmother or live in your apartment again. You'll have nothing. Not even memories of your past to console you. Just instinct. Raw, base instinct and long, cold, dirty nights alone." Aya's resolve swayed with Nas's words and his grip loosened on her arm.

"Don't listen to him, Aya." Tzipi's voice boom. "You could do great things. You could be great. You think your life is great now, just wait and see just how much better it can get."

She balled up her fist. "You have no idea, Aya. No idea how marvelous this feels. The power. The freedom. There is nothing like it. You won't regret it. No one ever does. Expect this weak, poor excuse of life." Nas glowered at her, barring his razor-sharp teeth.

"You won't care about your memories. Not one bit. Not while we are all connected." She gestured to the three around her. "The Hive is one entity. Even when you are far away, you always fit in. You'll be a part of something so powerful and it'll be a part of you. We care for each other. Each member will be like an extension of your own body and you theirs." She let a wicked smile spread across her face and Aya was awe-struck by her fierce beauty. Even with the strange absence of hair, Tzipi was almost regal next to the others.

When Aya made no more to respond to either, a light filled Tzipi's eyes. They glistened and she could scarcely take her eyes off of the Framer's. Nas slung in the way, a similar light in her eyes. She could feel her head pounding, a strong pull to move and another to stay right where she was. It burned, like being torn in two. A searing pain filled her gut and she took small step towards the Framer and then a half a step back.

Nas held her hand tightly once more, turning the burning into both physical and mental. She grunted. She was fully aware of what was going on, making it all the worse. The group of Framers and Nas were fighting for control over her. Their influences were struggling to take her. Nas gritted his teeth and let out a frustrated growl, obviously loosing as the pull from the opposing side seemed so much stronger. The desire, the burning from the opposing side soon had her sprawling to the floor, struggling to get away from Nas as he tightly held her hand and glared at the other glowing Framers.

She heard a sickening crack in her hand as his grip tightened and grunted, her hand now limp from the effort. Her shoulder popped and she sprang forward a bit more, horrified to see that it had come right out of its socket. Still, she pushed forward, the pain unbearable. Near unconsciousness with it, she sprung forward and Nas hissed.

Without warning, Nas release her hand and her face rebounded off the ground. She could feel her skin tearing but looked up, watching a sudden wild light show. It took a moment to full comprehend what was going on. Tzipi and Nas were locked in a deadly, wild dance. Their forms blurred into one another. A flash of claws and wild gem flashing ensued as the two duked it out.

Maqs and Axton moved in on Aya, still struggling to get up after the intense pain which had been so strong but moments before. They moved forward with tremendous speed. The agile Nas flashed back, taking the pair by surprise. All four suddenly were intertwined in fighting.

Nas's hand jabbed at Maqs, causing him to howl instantly in pain. He retaliated with a blow of his own. But Nas was more agile and soon Maqs's form met the floor. Axton lunged after him, nails hitting his skin. He cried out in pain but in no time was back up.

Tzipi was a handful, her hands flashing as they chased Nas's evading form. Every time one was free of the mess and started for Aya, Nas managed to keep the attention on him. "Get out of here! Get the hovercam and get out!" Nas called. Tzipi's claws raked his back slightly, barely missing. He grunted loudly before shouting. "Aya! Go!"

Adrenaline filled Aya's system suddenly and she snapped up, her right arm hanging limply to her side. For a moment, her vision blurred and she could barely make sense of anything around her. She gathered her self together and looked up. From above, Moggle helplessly watched. Aya whistled loudly and the cam turned to come. She slung her good arm up, suddenly glad she had insisted installing handles.

As Moggle adjusted to her weight, she had a nagging feeling. There was a slight shift in the soil nearby. She shrugged it off, focusing on the task ahead. She had to beat the Framers one last time and only had one arm to do it.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp jab in her back. Instantly, her legs felt like Jell-O. Moggle turned towards her and she turned on her eyescreen to see Rye smirking behind her. Ahead, Nas desperately tried to get to her but was being constantly assaulted by the other three.

"No!" He yelled out as she stumbled backwards, into the grasp of two, gut-wrenchingly cold arms. They clamped firmly around her waist, almost choking the life out of her. Cold breath blew words in her ear as she suddenly rose. "You didn't think you'd get away, did you?"

She rose, higher and higher till she saw the now sketchy light of the moon. On her eyescreen, she could see Moggle follow, its view of her quite shocking. She was limp and pale in the Framer's arms. "Say good bye to your past and hello to your future." Rye said mockingly, the last part slurred. The last thing she saw was the lights of her city on her eyescreen…and Moggle being shot out of the sky with her own eyes…

It would be the last time she'd see her city for a long time…

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**You thought she was going to get away, didn't you? Lol I'm not that nice. I really enjoyed writing this one. Just wish they could all be like this and not be too repetitive n still actually have a plot. -Sigh- oh well back to writing. Lucky me…I have a battle sequence to do. Why is it so easy to write action and yet so hard to come up with a believable, interesting battle?**


	6. Identity

**This chapter may seem a bit nonsensical, but bare with me. It's meant to give you a rare insight in what it's like, when a surgery or lesions change your personality, body, and mind. It's a little flatter than I would like, but you have to keep in mind that I am just a teenager living in a smallish city in Minnesota. I've got a hell of a lot of time to get better at this and like a million classes dedicated to helping me improve. **

**Song: Wake Me Up Inside by Evanescence**

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Blackness engulfed her.

It engulfed everything. Swallowed it into nothingness. She was nothing. And she let her self stay within it. To stay in the lifeless dark.

Lost in it.

It was all she was. A blob. A shadow. No life. No body. There were no features to define it, no look. Just a shadow without the figure.

Nothing.

It was a strange thing. To simply not be. Unable to think. Unable to feel. Unable to remember. Unwilling to try. Stripped of who she was. Aya began to believe she never had an identity. Like Aya was just a word to refer to empty space. Like there was nothing. Like she was nothing. And there never was.

_She_ never was.

She wasn't even sure of her own name. Who was she? What was she? Where was she? Was she? But she didn't want to know. She wanted to just sit there, in the dark. No waking up for her. No thoughts. No feelings. No pain. No suffering. Nothing unpleasant. Not even memories. Just her in her own world. Where she could stand to be forever. Had she even ever existed or had she always been in this void? It was so comfortable here. Warm…

Safe…

A steady thrum filled her and she began to count it as time. Was that her heartbeat? Or the pulse of a clock? Or something else entirely? Whatever it was, it only served to relax her more, the thrumming was like a gentle lullaby.

But suddenly, as if someone was throwing water at her, stuff deep inside her was forced up, ripped out of her being. It brought things that hurt. It brought the things that burned. She wanted to cry out, but she even couldn't speak. Or move. It was such a helpless feeling. Someone could chop her head off and she'd never be able to do a thing about it. The sting numbed her soon though and she was back in her world. Of blackness.

But it didn't last. The things were back, plaguing her. Torrents of bright colors and half-remembered memories. But none felt like they were hers. She wasn't part of them. It was all someone else's. But the worst part by far was the faces. All foreign, but all strangely familiar. Like she knew them, a long, long time ago. Or at least, she felt like she should.

Should, but didn't.

Overwhelming compared to the blackness of a few second ago. The memories were all jumbled up and there was no making sense of them. In random, nonsense-making patterns. Mindless, disorganized.

But then, it started to make sense of itself. Some disappeared into the depths of her mind, never to be seen again. But for everything lost, something was added. Some was just changed a bit.

Her body was rewriting itself. Reorganizing her every fiber. Part of her wondered where the lost thoughts had gone. But something else was suddenly plugged in. Something that didn't care. It took deep root in her and she couldn't pry it out. Nor did she want to.

Suddenly, she froze. Things were coming, to change the one part of her that still mattered. Her personality. She tried to swat them off like the life sucking mosquitoes they were, but on every move she made to one sent another to drive into her skin. The pain was excruciating. Like being frozen for weeks, and then suddenly tossed into the fire.

Every moment in that hell was a nightmare. She was trapped it the one place she couldn't escape, no matter where she was trying to go. She tried to fight it, but it was like tying to stop a deadly storm. No matter how she fought, all her efforts did was allow the hail to smash into her harder. So she gave up, letting the changes pelt her; going along with it to numb the pain a bit.

Suddenly, it was over. Nothing more. Everything was crystal clear. But for a dull ache, nothing assaulted her anymore. Everything was neat and orderly. Spread out before her like a well-made map. Exhausted, she tried to sleep.

Something began to tug at her, trying to pull her out of her little shell. She resisted at first, but remembered the pain her last resist had caused her. So she embraced it, sitting up and gasping for air.

Around her, the room was neat and orderly. She blinked and looked around more carefully. It was mid-day, a voice in her head told her. In the bustle of things, the room was completely empty. Expect for her. Alone in the sterile white walls she assumed was a hospital.

She found herself longing for the open out door woods. The whole place was too dreary for her to be in much longer. The open sky, the beauty of her world. She could almost see it; picture it spreading out before her.

Suddenly, a most peculiar thing happened. Around her, the white walls started to transform. They tanned and opened up and twisted and gnarled. She was no longer in a boring empty room. She was in a wild forest. Cold, lonely, clear, and wild. It looked pristine, untouched. Opening before her and embracing her as a part of it. It even smelled like the wild. She smiled.

She wanted to get up, but her feet wouldn't allow her. Puzzled, she looked down. She was confused to see, instead of a set of gawkily long, imperfect ugly legs, they were short and perfect and powerful.

Flawless.

Beautiful.

Her mind knew it was how she was meant to be. Beautiful. Strong. She knew everything was just right. But part of her hadn't expected it to be.

That part finished its final takeover as she looked in a small bedside mirror. The part of her that felt this was weird shrunk away at the face in the mirror along with the fake forest around her. It was her. And she embraced it. She wasn't surprised as her eyes took in unearthly white irises and light orange pupils staring back. She had no hair and her skin was a creamier version of her original Japanese gold complexion.

Cresting up and down her neck were gems of various sizes in a vague vine-like pattern. They were mixtures of orange and green in every shade possible. As she stared at them, a number instantly popped into her head. Number fifty.

Her eyelashes were long and beautiful, almost touching the tips of her nerve-ending brows. As she closed her eyes and blinked—more out of habit than actually necessary—and was surprised to still be able to see the ceiling above her, in a fuzzier pattern but still.

She caressed her face, feeling the surface of her unmarred flesh. And it wasn't the usual smooth, fleshy feel or even look, but much like a snake's fresh coat just after shedding. Although her body felt heated, almost feverish, and her hands touching her face were no warmer than it, she knew that was because she was cold. Not the feverish type of chill but the cold of sub-zero.

She looked down towards her legs once more, seeing their intensely muscular surface. She could feel new strength in her body and balled up her fist, flexing her new muscles. They felt like they were made of iron, but they were more elastic than anything she'd ever known. As she moved, her bones felt light, almost not even there and she had to remind herself it didn't take that much effort to move around. But they were obviously strong. She felt like moving so badly, but found herself still mostly incapacitated from undergoing the changes she had.

Then the door opened and she snapped her head towards the sound, so fast it felt like her head was about to come off her neck and go flying. The silhouette of a female figure stood in the doorway, smiling. She was taller and had a loose pattern of soft red, blue, and yellow gems running up and down her figure in which were glowing softly, obviously visible beneath her thin clothes.

As Aya's new eyes took her in, a name and number popped up in her head. "Rye?"

"Yes." her voice was so close, it was as if it was just in her head. "I know what you are thinking. 'How did I know who she was?' And I'm also here to answer that and anything else you want to know. Well, your new mind can read any Framer's identity just by looking at them because of our crystals. Each pattern and color is unique and different. One of the many purposes they serve…"

"How did I get here?" Aya asked groggily.

"You don't remember? Of course, you wouldn't. I'd be surprised if you could get your own old name right." Rye moved closer to Aya, bent over, and whispered in her ear. "Is this familiar?"

It all came back to Aya in a rush. Her mind had been unconscious so long, it hurt to try and think about it. She pushed the memories back.

"Ah, my head aches." Aya said.

"As it should. You've had a rough couple of weeks. When you first turn, everything's out to get you. It'll take a while before you get full control of yourself…" She stuck one of her hollow fingernails into the I.V. in Aya's arm, pumping into her veins a clear liquid. It took a second before the fuzziness turned to drowsiness. Before she zonked out, she heard Rye say. "But we'll talk more later…sleep now…"

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**Many of you have asked me exactly what a Framer is. But you need to be patient. All will be revealed in time. This story is actually going to be the first of three, as I decided a long time ago. So we have plenty of time to elaborate fully on what a Framer is, what they are meant to be for, and plenty on why they are so important.**

**As for how Aya now looks, any of you who've seen that picture I have as my avi, yes that is her. My muse…what inspired the full look of a Framer and Aya. What I saw in my mind's eye when I first made this story and knew she was going to become one. She looks exactly like I would have Aya look. **

**On a final note, if anyone wants to beta this story, I am open for help with it. So much to do and so much to work with, I wouldn't be surprised if my plots get mixed up. They actually did too. My SPN story recently had acquired a new character that sounded an awful lot like a Framer…lol**


	7. Warning

**I've had this chapter done for a long time, but just haven't posted it because I'm stuck at a cross roads.**

**I've been spending this year greatly growing as a writer, so chances are there are going to be some changes to this story. If you like my general style, you may want to reread. However, basic facts about the story will remain the same. Part of me is also considering switching names about what they are. **

**When I started this story, Ultras and Framers were the same thing. But over the course of my work, I have divided them. I think it would make more sense to call them Ultras, because it sounds similar to Extras. It would mirror Westerfield's style even more, Pretties and Uglies sound the same then Specials are so different. Just as I kind of want to make Extras and Ultras similar and Framers completely different. I won't switch it without retitling however and will wait for your input. **

**Should Ultras or Framers be the first step in the Hive higherarchy?**

* * *

Aya's eyes caught the first flicker of light around 6 am.

She looked up. The sun was just peeking overhead or at least, the virtual sun anyway. She stretched in its warmth, acknowledging that, according to her systems in this frigid climate, the sun wasn't really going to show its face until precisely 10:58 am.

It was at times like this that she was glad that she was in the Hive's highly advanced rooms and wouldn't be joining the parties of Bumbles on any trip outside for another three days. It was time she was going to treasure.

She stretched her muscles. A combination of soreness and pain shot through her. She smiled. It allowed her to think more clearly, surprisingly enough. It almost felt good, the pain.

She tested her other senses. Most were still a little overwhelmed with their new capabilities. Her nose burned as it smelled things far away; the smell of the dismayed Bumbles as ate their meager meals for another hard day of training. Her vision was so sharp, even the fake sun's dimmed light hurt. She dimmed the light a bit more, till to the normal eye it was nothing but a light glow. But for her, it was enough to illuminate the room and then some.

She shifted to infrared. Her mentor, Rye, had told her to practice with her knew senses. In infrared, she could see the individual cells of the smart walls, straining in various heat extremities to keep the color the way she wanted.

Most were a dim blue, just giving off enough heat to heat her room and keep the walls a solid black. But the ones forming the sun were bright shades of orange, red, and yellow.

Satisfied, she shifted to the harder stuff. As a Framer, her body could pick up the slightest vibration of a bug skittering across the floor a half a kilometer away. She could disrupt electrical fields and cause hover-tec to fall out of mid air or enhance them for her own hover-tec. She could see a coin on the other side of a thin wall and vibrate her skin to reach through the wall and grab it.

But all of that, because she new, did not come easy. Some part in her body had not become accustomed to these facts yet, so she was always being dragged down. But there was one new sense she could toy with. It was the reason her eyelashes weren't real, but optical enhancing pieces. She could see with her eyes closed.

But more importantly, they helped her electro-vision. She switched out of infrared and into electro and was instantly assaulted by light. The little electrical pulse give off by each cell of the smart walls was overwhelming together. It was still just too strong for her and she switched it and the light off with one thought.

It felt good to be in the blackness. But her fresh senses still probed her. Her body could feel each individual Bumble now out in the cold two miles away. Aya still couldn't believe it was what was normally summer in her city right now.

She touched her frozen skin, the hardest part of her transformation, next only to loosing her hair. It was meant to maintain that temperature so the Hive was virtually invisible to over flying hovercraft. Plus give its members an easy way to discern friend from foe and not allow soon to be operated on people the advantage of blending in. Not they'd last long even if everyone was normal temperature. Framers looked so different

Still, it was very uncomforting to constantly feel like a smooth snake before it had gotten even a drop of sunshine on its scales. She looked at her arm. Her skin was a little different in color; creamier and more even but it still shocked her. Although she could only remember shattered bits and pieces of her past, her skin color was one of those few things she knew and cared to think about.

Distressed, she flipped on her room's smart walls. She smiled, glad that all she needed to do was think about what she wanted on them and it appeared. She thought of a distant memory, the jungles of a place called Singapore, and instantly she saw it in all its beauty.

The room even turned slightly humid and the smart floors took on ruin like characteristics. Even her bed changed into one of the ancient Rusty ruins; something she'd heard somewhere was called a car.

She felt alive; in a way she knew, no matter how famous she was for trivial things in her seemingly distant past, she'd never felt this good. Only a Framer's enhanced senses could smell the flowers off in the distance and discern them from any other smells. Only a Framer could see every little dew drop, dropping off the misted trees. Only a Framer could see clear through the trees at hidden animals, their very hearts beating in their chests giving them away. Only a Framer could feel the distant boom of thunder or see the cackle of lightning in the sky in what must be miles away.

And only a Framer wouldn't let old memories rake the beauty of anything. Framers had no regrets. Framer had no anger. They just existed to serve the world and their commanders.

A shiver ran down her spine as she thought of the commanders.

The ultras.

She'd met one. After her surgery. It was very brief, but he still sent shivers down her spine. He was her commander. Hers, Rye's, and three other Framers. His eyes had been so powerful, they'd sucked her attention up like it was water and his eyes were sponges. They were so intense, those yellow eyes. Like a cat's. Only ten times more captivating. Other differences she noticed about him was that, for one, he had hair. He was in charge and would probably need to keep his head warm more then keeping his dark strands from catching on fire or getting caught while in a dense forest. Framers didn't have hair because they sometimes had to travel into places were hair just got in the way. But, as if to flaunt their high rating, Ultras had fine, dark hair. He, also, instead of the traditional gemming cresting his body, had bright patterns lines which glowed intensely. And his face was so sharp; she swore she'd be cut on it if she touched it. And she was probably right. Rye had told her that their skin, instead of smart skin, was made of a special orbital alloy; the metal also stuck out to protect him from everything from mosquito bites to daggers or other weapons. But that was the thing, it could change like hers too.

Rye said there were so many special things about them. But she also said there was normally only ten. Each had to take charge of five Framers.

But it unsettled Aya, to think of beings even more powerful then her. So she went back to thinking about the forest. She daydreamed, thinking she was on some big epic quest through the jungle. And after Bumble training, maybe she could return to Singapore.

Suddenly a buzz ran through her head. It was Rye. "Hey. I'm back."

"When did you get in?" She asked. She still wasn't a pure master of speaking with her mind yet, quietly murmuring her words aloud.

"Ohh, at exactly 9:32 and 43 seconds."

"Cool. I'm so bored. How was India?" she answered.

"It was good. We took care of the earthquake. You should have been there, Bumble. We got to go down to the core to stop it." Aya cringed. She hated that no one called her by her name anymore. Of course, it wasn't really her name. If…no when, she graduated out of Bumble school, she'd have a name. A short name you could say in a few seconds, allowing her to be able to responds a quarter of a second faster. It wasn't much, but in a situation like the one Rye had been in, it could mean life or death. Of course, some bumbles stayed bumbles, helping their class mates get into the ranks and out of training. Right now, there were about four Bumbles, five including her.

"Don't worry, you'll have a name and be out in the field in no time. Sorry for doing that, but you really do need to learn to guard your thoughts." Aya smiled.

"I just can't wait." Aya said eagerly.

"Well, you have too. You want to open up the wall?" She sighed. Part of her just wanted to relax with the distant sound of the waterfall. But she knew Rye would be kind of hurt then.

So she thought of it and the middle west smart wall of her hexagonal room faded. The rest of the room went black with nothing but her programmed sun for light. Rye sat on her bed in her room. Her body was slightly blackened and she distantly smelled of smoke. She wore a soiled fire uniform, the left sleeve torn a bit. Her left arm was a little burnt; an obvious testimony to her most recent mission. But as she watched on, the bots in Rye's arm were working, slowly mending her flesh and muscles. It must have been a bad burn to take so long to heal. That or Rye just wanted to show off and had intentionally stalled the healing …

"Forgot to clean up?" Aya gave her a sly smile from the bed. Rye gave a frown back, but there was a playful gleam in her glowing eyes.

"Here I thought you'd be glad I was even alive." She rose and moved to Aya's bed.

"No, I had hoped to magma had gotten you." Aya smirked. Rye chased a fake tear line down her cheek.

"That hurt." She said seriously, but her eyes still gave her away. They were silent for a moment, faking an awkward silence was funnier then anything else. But finally the two couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. Rye bent over and patted Aya's bald head affectionately. A soft tingling went through Aya as she felt every electric pulse her heightened body created. She smiled at the feeling.

"So, how'd you get that?" she asked, pointing to the mending burn.

"Oh, this old thing. I was just a little careless, that's all." Rye answered in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

"The great Rye distracted? Imagine that!" Aya retorted. Rye pushed her numb arm hard. It flopped over uselessly onto the bed.

"No need to get violent." She whimpered.

"I wouldn't need to if you weren't such a jerk!" Rye exclaimed.

"Hmm, I'll work on that." Aya answered.

"Sure Bumble. What ever you say. And before I forget, I have something for you." She reached beneath her jacket.

"For little ol' me?" Aya answered, a sarcastic grin on her face.

It faded into wonder as she saw what Rye had. In her hand, she held a tiny jar of red hot lava. It shifted around, slowly sloshing in her hand. In the room, it glowed shades of red and orange.

"Killer. How'd you get this?"

"Well, you asked me to bring you back some lava. Here it is." She placed it into Aya's hand. The jar was surprisingly cool for the extreme heat it held within.

"Thanks Rye. You're the best." She said aloud and telekinetically.

"No problem." Rye smiled. She took it from Aya and put it on a small shelf.

"So, do I need any more of that drug?" Aya asked as Rye set the jar down.

"Nope. You should be able to handle the pain now without passing out. Or trying to anyway." Aya nodded in understanding. She knew that Framers could not pass out almost ever. It was a good adaptation, sometimes. Sometimes it was torture.

"Good. I want to be able to move again." Rye flashed a smile at her.

"No, you don't. Bumble training is intense." Aya sighed. Rye had a dim outlook on training. They sat, quietly, both in deep thought. Of course, for all Aya knew, those thoughts Rye was listening to might not even be hers. Suddenly Rye's stomach growled loudly.

"I can guess what you're thinking of." Aya chortled. Till she heard her own stomach growling. Rye starting laughing with her.

"But speaking of which, what do you want to eat?" Rye said.

"Just get me whatever." Aya answered.

"Okay. I'll be back before you know it." Rye said, turning towards the door.

"Miss you already." Aya answered.

"I'm not really gone." Aya smiled.

It was strange. Every other Framer she'd ran into was nothing like Rye. She was warmer, more relatable too. But the rest were cold to her. Especially when they knew who she was.

Most looked down on her because she was a Bumble. But some had other reasons. According to Rye, she was the first Framer ever not to be taken from their death bed. They simply couldn't wait for that. And Aya had no idea why. Framers were notorious for catching potential Framer candidates at just the right time. But not Aya. Things were sour in the Hive since the mid rain. So Aya still had a life. Stories about her mysterious disappearance crowded the other's airwaves. But the rest of the Framers were all forgotten; just sad stories.

Still some were mad because she was so new, and she was still so young. Everyone she'd known in her life was still alive. Or almost everyone, anyways.

Aya must have nodded off, the drugs still a bit at work in her still bruised system. Because next thing she knew, she was seeing thing she knew not to be real…More scattered, like lightning; random images across her brain.

_A littlie._

_A room._

_Another littlie._

_Tears._

_Sweat._

_Flowers._

_Fear. _

_A vase._

_A crash._

_The smell._

She awoke suddenly, feeling slight vibrations. Her internal clock said it was much later. 5:10 and three seconds, to be exact. The day had come and went without her. The sun was gone. Its last rays touched the surface of the Hive around forty minutes ago.

She wondered why Rye had never come back. She saw in her head a ping. She opened it and saw from Rye. It read:

_Dear Bumble,_

_I did come back, just so you know. But I didn't want to wake you. So I ate my meal quietly. But right now, the alarms in the building are going nuts. I don't know what's going on, but they told me to leave you here and go with them. The Ultras. There's no questioning them. I'm sorry but I have to go._

_~Rye_

She looked around. The alarm wasn't going off now… then she saw it.

A little note, lying on the end of her bed.

She willed herself to reach for it, pulling it closer. The paper felt strange and foreign to the touch.

She unfolded it. Random writing was scribbled down. It was messy and smelled strange. It was a little wet and cold too, like it had just been outside. She looked at the words scribbled onto the page.

_~Aya~_

_It is dead important no one sees this. Not even Rye. Rip it up when you are done reading and never speak of it again. You are in danger. Don't trust anyone. I'm coming._

There was no signature. Aya blinked hard. It was the first time in a while she'd heard of her name in a while; much less seen it. And it was scribbled down, in a combination of words which made no sense.

She was safe here. Safer then she'd ever felt. And this she knew. Although all her memories were gone, the feelings she got from them were not at all. In her mind, she could feel all the times she was afraid, even if she couldn't see why. Some very distant, some still fresh.

But here, there was just nothing. It was perfect. How could a place where you surrounded by all your friends be dangerous? No, not friends but rather closer. Not quite family, but her bonds to the people here was definitely stronger then just friendship. You can't really feel like that when you can constantly feel everyone's presence; their own feeling pulsing through you.

If anything, this strange note scared her more then anything around here; except maybe bumble training or the ultras. Definitely the ultras. And it was a different kind of fear for all. One was a safe kind; one in the back of her mind. Like that little warning you feel every time you get on a hoverboard, guarding against falling off or the tiny, ebbing fear she felt when she stared at a fire that was getting out of control. But this was different. It was pressing; it was real. It wasn't just a warning either.

But still, in her bones, part of her took the note to heart. She crinkled it up and threw it into a fireplace concocted by the room as her mood shifted.

Maybe the Hive wasn't as safe as it felt…

* * *

**Like I said before, I need you guys imput on if I should change the names or not. Otherwise I am just going to do what feels right for me. So drop me a review, it can even be only a couple words like "Call this one Framers" or a lengthy paragraph ****like I often write sporadically. Hell it could even be a pm or a post on a poll I am going to set up on my page. I just need to know what you guys think before I go making a change like the name at this stage.**


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